My life is more than a little crazy as I have two time-consuming hobbies, but being recently retired I hope to have more time for both. I've been showing dogs since 1967, but about 10 years ago decided to cut back on dogs and dog-related activities and add an "easy" hobby, like a tank of fish. I STILL breed and show dogs, but many tanks later I also keep a variety of aquarium fish. Hiking,gardening, writing, reading, cooking, and (especially) dining out are also favorite activities.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Step One Completed

Step One completed, the whole house electrical check up. The CurrentSAFE electrician worked from 7:00 AM until 4:00 PM, going over every bit of wiring in my house. Lots of issues uncovered, but the good thing was that nothing was unusual or unexpected, and the current itself was fine, with no hotspots. Biggest issue will be to replace the main panel and add a few more circuits, putting things like the microwave, window air conditioners, and fish room heater on circuits of their own. Numerous outlets to be added, as the original part of the house had only one or two outlets per room, rather than at least one per wall. Some old outlets need to be replaced with grounded outlets, and some existing outlets need to be GFCI outlets (primarily the ones in the kitchen). This will be expensive, but it needs to be done. One good bit of news was that the blown in insulation in the attic over the old portion of the house is in good condition - I did that myself, a huge project, and I was afraid the insulation might have settled. No way would I attempt that job again!

Dogs had a rather boring day as they spent most of it in their crates as they would have had a wonderful time "helping" the electrician. We made it up to them with long walks in the evening. Sue took Josie running and I walked Watson for the first time in several years - Ron normally walks Watty. I was delighted to see how sound and spry Watson was after the tough winter he had. Really moves well for a dog who will be thirteen years old in 6 weeks.

Next step will be a visit from the original electrician who will go over all the findings with us (again), and price the various items out for us. THEN we will decide which ones I can afford. I can't actually afford any of them, but because I am going to refinance my house, I'll roll these costs in. I know we will do the new panel, and dedicated circuits, and probably all the new outlets. Might as well get all the damaged outlets replaced too. Oh heck, might as well do the whole thing. It's only money.